Negro extension of suffrage to negroes was a result of the Civil War. Prior to the Revolution, though there were no laws against it, it is not known that any negro ever voted in the New England or Middle colonies, but a few free negroes voted in Maryland, South Carolina and probably in North Carolina. Between the Revolution and the Civil War free negroes voted in several States. They were disfranchised in New Jersey, 1807; Maryland, 1810; Tennessee, 1834; North Carolina, 1835, and Pennsylvania, 1838. The elections of two Tennessee congressmen, John Bell and Cave Johnson, were decided by the ballots of free negroes. The agitation of abolition societies was the principal cause of the disfranchisement of free blacks. Vermont, Massachusetts. New Hampshire and New York alone before 1861 did not disfranchise them. The 13th Amendment (1865) to the United States Constitution merged the negroes into the political population for purposes of representation. A movement in the South (1867) to give the negro a limited suf frage was stopped by the Reconstruction Acts (1867) which gave the ballot to the negroes in the South, though as late as 1868 most of the Northern States gave them no political privi leges. The 14th Amendment (1868). while disfranchising the prominent whites of the South, put a premium on the enfranchisement of the blacks by the State governments by offer ing increased representation in Congress. The 15th Amendment (1870) provided against dis crimination on account of race or color and practically resulted in universal manhood suf frage. The amendments apply to the whole United States. Political corruption and mis government followed the enfranchisement of the negro, and from 1868 to 1876 the Southern whites were engaged in overturning the govern ments ruled by the negroes, thus beginning a thorough-going reaction against negro suffrage. From 1876 to 1890, the whites devoted them selves to destroying in the South the Republican party organization which controlled the negro vote. During this period the negro vote was restricted by centralization of the administra tion in Louisiana and North Carolina; by requiring the payment of taxes in Virginia, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and Tennessee; and by complexity of election laws —Australian ballot system, registration, etc.— in Alabama, Arkansas, Virginia, Tennessee and Mississippi, amounting practically to an educa tional qualification. About 1890 began a move ment to disfranchise negroes by changes in the State constitutions. Upon readmission to the Union (1868-70) a fundamental condition im posed was that their constitutions should never . be revised so as to deprive any one of the right of suffrage. This condition was ignored by the Southern States and the amendments were evaded. The suffrage clauses in these new Southern constitutions are alternative: (1) the clause requires the voter to be able to read or understand when read to him any section of the Constitution; (2) the 'grand father° or 'old soldier° clause excuses from other tests those who have served in any war and their descendants, or those who were voters before 1 Jan. 1867, and their descendants; (3) a clause requiring a tax paying and property qualification from those disqualified under other clauses ; (4) the °good character° clause re quiring the voter to be of good moral character. Mississippi (1890) invented the 'understanding clause,' giving it to South Carolina, Alabama and Virginia; Louisiana the "grandfather' or °old soldier' clause (1898), giving it to North Carolina, Alabama and Virginia. Alabama (1901) discovered the 'good character° quali fication, passing it on to Virginia. Practically all the Southern States have a property and tax-paying qualification for voters, which, with the educational test, has since 1905 become the sole although in Louisiana by constitutional amendment adopted on 5 Nov. 1912, the "grandfather clause° was revived for three months in order to provide for the registration of illiterate whites who failed to register in 1898. The evasive provisions are temporary, intended only to disfranchise the negroes, while including the whites. The effect of these restrictions is remarkable, disfranchis ing in each State that has restricted the suffrage from 30,000 to 60,000 whites and practically all the blacks. The tax-paying and registration requirements are now the most effective in ex cluding both whites and blacks. Regarding the conflict of these provisions with the United States Constitution and laws, the Supreme Court decided that the fundamental restriction im posed upon readmission of the States is uncon stitutional, and that it is the duty of Congress to enforce the 14th and 15th amendments, which probably will not be done. In 1915 a crude form of the "grandfather* qualification in Oklahoma and Maryland was declared uncon stitutional by the United States Supreme Court, but the decision did not affect the present situa tion in the South. The evil results from negro
suffrage during Reconstruction caused Congress to hesitate before again interfering in affairs of the Southern States.
Suffrage in the In the Terri tories suffrage is regulated by Congress, which may delegate its authority to the Territorial leg islature. In the District of Columbia, white tax payers voted from 1802 to 1855, when the suf frage was extended to all white men, and in 1867 to white and black males excepting Con federates and Confederate sympathizers. Mis government and corruption followed and in 1878 all voters in the District were disfranchised by Congress, local government now being carried on by a board of commissioners.
In Hawaii the right to vote is restricted to citizens of the United States who can speak, read and write English or Hawaiian. Thus most of the Chinese and Japanese, who are in the majority, are excluded for the present. In Porto'Rico there is an educational qualification, and in the Philippines the voter must take an oath of allegiance to the United States and qualify either as a taxpayer or under an educa tional test.
Woman The right to vote is rather a recent acquisition by women in the United States. They are said to have had the suffrage in Massachusetts, 1691-1780, and in Jersey, ersey, 1776-1807, but it is not clear that they exercised the privilege. During the first half of the 19th century the extension of male suffrage, the better education of women, their prominence in church and mission work, and the renewed agitation in regard to *natural rights," especially in regard to slavery, re sulted in demands that woman be given the ballot. The temperance movement and the need to protect property and family rights strengthened this demand. In 1848 the first woman's suffrage convention demanded the ballot, basing their claims on the Declaration of Independence. The extension of the franchise to the negroes led to renewed demands in be half of women. In 1866 the first petition de manding national suffrage for women was sent to Congress, and in 1868 the New England Woman s Suffrage Association was formed. Gradually the suffrage leaders of the entire United States were organized. The new States and Territories of the West were the first to make women the political equals of men, and that region is still the stronghold of woman suffrage, though the States east of the Appa lachians are being strongly influenced. At present women enjoy equal suffrage with men in 15 States and one Territory: Wyoming, 1869; Utah, 1870, 1896; Colorado, 1876, 1893; Washington, 1883, 1911; Idaho, 1896; Cali fornia, 1911; Arizona, Kansas and Oregon, 1912; Alaska Territory, 1913; Montana and Nebraska, 1914; New York, 1917; South Dakota, Michigan and Oklahoma, 1918. In 12 other States women have recently been given he right to vote in municipal elections and for offices created by statute: Illinois, 1913; North Dakota, Nebraska and Rhode Island, 1917; Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, Indiana, Maine, Vermont and Tennessee, 1919. The right of women to vote in party primaries was granted by Arkansas in 1917 and by Texas in 1918. In eight States women property-holders may vote on matters relating to taxation, and in 19 States in school elections. In 17 States, 11 of which are in the South, women have no form of political suffrage. It is estimated that now (1919) about 6,000,000 women have equal suffrage with men. During the presidential campaign of 1916 both candidates declared for woman suffrage — Wilson, Democrat, for the ballot by State action; Hughes, Republican, for suffrage through Federal constitutional amend ment. Wilson later supported the movement for Federal grant of suffrage, and in 1918 Con gress sent out to the States an equal suffrage amendment which within a year was ratified by 14 States. In all States suffrage organizations have been formed and the national association has headquarters in New York.
The effects of woman suffrage are not yet clearly evident. Both men and women vote in larger proportions than did men before the vote was given to women. Enfranchised women generally favor legislation for social reforms — for prohibition, better schools, better condi tions for women workers, the restriction of commercialized vice, and the regulation of child labor.
Bibliography.— Bishop, 'History of Elec tions' (1893); Bryce,